This document concerns an invention relating generally to exercise devices, and more specifically to devices which assist with the performance of push-ups and/or chin-ups.
A push-up is a common strength training exercise wherein the person exercising lies face down in a horizontal position, and then pushes against the floor with his/her arms to raise his/her body, followed by relaxation of the arms to lower his/her body. Push-ups are popular because they do not require equipment, and can be performed nearly anywhere. However, in recent years, push-up handles have come into common use: handles which may be grasped by users while performing push-ups, and which extend downwardly to enlarged bases which rest on the floor. Such handles can provide more comfort to a user's hands/wrists while performing push-ups, and since they space the user' s hands from the floor, the user may (when relaxing his/her arms) drop his/her chest and face to a height at or below the height of his/her palms. In contrast, without push-up handles, the user's range of motion is more limited since the user naturally cannot move his/her chest and face past the floor.
Chin-ups (or pull-ups) are also common strength training exercises where the person exercising grasps an overhead bar or other overhead member, and then pulls his/her body up until the bar approaches or touches the upper chest, followed by relaxation of his/her arms until they're straight. Chin-ups are also popular owing to their simplicity and low expense, though they are limited by their requirement for an easily graspable overhead structure (and for sufficient clearance above the structure). In recent years, door-mounted chin-up bars have become popular, wherein bars are mountable to doors or doorframes at heights allowing users to perform chin-ups with the bars.
A common complaint in the exercise field is that is generally expensive and space-consuming for one to obtain all of the equipment needed for one to completely exercise his/her entire body, or even his/her main muscle groups. Taking push-ups and chin-ups as examples, users must purchase and store both exercise handles and chin-up bars if they wish to gain the benefits of these devices. It would be useful to have more available options for decreasing the bulk and cost of these devices.
The invention involves exercise assemblies which are intended to at least partially solve the aforementioned problems. To give the reader a basic understanding of some of the advantageous forms and features of the invention, following is a brief summary of preferred versions of the exercise assembly, with reference being made to the accompanying drawings (which are briefly reviewed in the following “Brief Description of the Drawings” section of this document) to assist the reader's understanding. Since the following discussion is merely a summary, it should be understood that more details regarding the preferred versions may be found in the Detailed Description set forth elsewhere in this document. The claims set forth at the end of this document then define the various versions of the invention in which exclusive rights are secured.
Looking to
The exercise handle 100 includes a grip base 102 with a grip base upper section 104, an opposing grip base lower section 106 (see
The grip support struts 118 preferably have lengths bending over the grip base upper section 104 toward the inner grip base side 110, with the grip support struts 118 defining a grip mouth 122 between the grip base 102, the grip support struts 118, and the grip 120. This grip mouth 122 is open from the inner grip base side 110 (i.e., between the grip support struts 118 and the inner grip base side 110) and between the right and left grip base sides 114 and 116. As a result, the grip base 102, the grip support struts 118, and the grip 120 have a hook-like shape wherein the grip mouth 122 defines the mouth of the hook, whereby hanging structure on a door or other portions of the surrounding environment can be received within the grip mouth 122 to suspend the exercise handle 100 above the floor in the orientation shown in
Optionally, the grip base lower section 106 (seen in
As seen (for example) in
The cradle 200—best seen in FIG. 1—includes a cradle base 202 extending between a cradle base top 204 and a cradle base bottom 206, and a pair of spaced cradle arms 208 extending from the cradle base 202, with the cradle arms 208 being shown joined by a cradle grip base support 210 situated therebetween. The cradle 200 preferably offers one or more of the following points of support for the exercise handle 100. First, the cradle arms 208 may define or bear cradle hooks 212 configured to receive and support at least one of the grip 120 and the grip support struts 118 when the exercise handle 100 is fully engaged within the cradle 200. Second, the cradle arms 208 may define or bear cradle grip supports 214 which can be received within the grip mouth 122 defined between the grip base 102, the grip support struts 118, and the grip 120, such that the grip support struts 118 extend about the cradle grip supports 214 with the grip base 102 situated between the cradle grip supports 118 and the cradle base 202. Third, the cradle 200 may include a grip base pocket 216 defined therein (here in the cradle grip base support 210), wherein the grip base pocket 216 has a top entry 218 which opens in a direction toward the cradle base top 204, with the top entry 218 being sized to removably receive the grip base 102 of the exercise handle 100 therein. At the same time, the grip base pocket 216 is configured to prevent the grip base 102 from exiting the grip base pocket 216 in a direction toward the cradle base bottom 206 (here by having a size/width which decreases in a direction toward the cradle base bottom 206). The grip base 102 of the exercise handle 100 can therefore be inserted into the top entry 218 of the grip base pocket 216 to be supported therein.
As noted previously, the cradle 200 preferably includes means for mounting the cradle 200 to surrounding environment. In
Further advantages, features, and objects of the invention will be apparent from the remainder of this document in conjunction with the associated drawings.
Expanding on the discussion above, the mounting means for mounting the cradle 200 to surrounding environment—such as to a door—can assume a wide variety of forms other than those discussed above, such as fasteners (e.g., bolts which extend to surrounding environment such as a wall); apertures for complementarily receiving structure situated on surrounding environment (e.g., hanging holes for receiving a hook or bolt head extending from surrounding environment such as a wall); clamps for engaging doorframes, bars, or other structure which presents clamping surfaces; or hooks, clips, straps/cords, or other structure allowing the cradle 200 to be hooked, clipped, tied, or otherwise affixed to surrounding environment. Most preferably, the cradle 200 is mountable to a door, with the mounting means being specially configured to mount the cradle 200 atop a door. As noted previously, a preferred form of such a door mounting means includes an extension 220 which is configured to rest atop a door and fit within the space defined by the top of the door and the door frame when the door is closed, and an anchor 222 for fitting on the side of a door opposite the side where the cradle 200 is situated (with the anchor 222 being sized and/or configured such that it cannot slip between the space defined by the top of the door and the door frame when the door is closed). The extension 220 and anchor 222 can take forms other than those shown, e.g., the extension 220 could be a flexible strap or cord, and the anchor 222 could be a block, cylinder, or other member sized such that it cannot slip between the space defined by the top of the door and the door frame when the door is closed.
As briefly discussed above, the grip passage 134 extending within the grip 120 can usefully expand the capabilities of the exercise assembly by allowing installation of a variety of components within the grip passage 134, e.g., flexible (or inflexible) cords or straps, bars/rods, or other members that might be supported within the grip passage 134. The foregoing discussion mentioned the use of an elastic loop having a length of the loop extending through the grip passages 134 of a pair of exercise handles 100, and wherein the user can then perform push-ups with the elastic loop extending behind the user' s back to increase the resistance encountered when pushing away from the handles 100. In similar respects, the user can install such exercise handles 100 within a pair of cradles 200 mounted to a door (or to other structure) to perform chin-ups, with the user standing on a length of the loop while performing the chin-ups, so that the elastic cable acts to lift the user and thereby effectively reduces the resistance encountered by the user. As yet another example, the aforementioned loop can be extended from one or both exercise handles 100 situated within one or more cradles 200 at the top of a door, or at the bottom of a door, or on another structure, with the user sitting or standing spaced from the cradle(s) 200, and working against the resistance of the elastic member(s) with his/her arms and/or legs. All of the foregoing exercises may alternatively or additionally be performed with elastic members which are not looped, e.g., straight lengths of elastic cable, strap, or the like, with their lengths extending through the grip passage 134, and possibly bearing bands/handles at the ends of the member(s). The reader is referred to U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,775 (as an example) for depictions of a number of exercises that might be performed using elastic cables extending from an anchored exercise handle 100, and also for depictions of a variety of cable arrangements and associated accessories that might be used with the exercise assembly.
It is also possible that the aforementioned components—cables, straps, bars, etc.—can fit in passages defined in an exercise handle 100 away from the grip 120, e.g., a passage might be defined within the grip base 102. Further, rather than mounting the aforementioned components in a passage extending between opposing passage openings, the components may engage within a closed-ended passage, or to an aperture or protrusion which engages such components. As an example, an elastic cable having an enlarged plug at one of its ends might be engaged within a complementarily-configured socket or nest defined somewhere on an exercise handle 100 (or on a cradle 200).
It is also notable that the grip passage 134 can be used to provide mounting means for the exercise handle 100, whereby the exercise handle 100 can be mounted to a door or other structure without the need for the cradle 200. To illustrate, an extension in the form of a flexible strap (as opposed to a rigid plate/flange 220) can extend through the grip passage 134, with the extension/strap bearing larger-diameter anchors (similar to anchors 222) at its ends on opposite sides of the length of the grip 120. The grip base lower section 106 can then be situated against a door near the door' s top, and the ends of the extension/strap may be extended over the door with the anchors resting on the side of the door opposite the exercise handle 100. When the door is then closed, the anchors can prevent the extension/strap from pulling through the door, thereby suspending the exercise handle 100 from the top of the door. If desired, the anchors could be replaced with hooks allowing mounting to an elevated bar, clamps for mounting to a doorframe or another structure, or other forms of mounting means.
Further, the exercise handle 100 may directly bear mounting means without the need for or use of the grip passages 134. For example, hooks, clamps, or other mounting means might be provided directly on the exercise handles 100 (e.g., on the grip base 102), preferably in such a manner that they may fold against and/or nest into the body of the exercise handle 100 when not in use. One or more extensions/straps and anchors might be mounted directly to the grip base 102 to allow mounting the exercise handle 100 to a door in a manner discussed above.
It should be understood that one or both of the exercise handle 100 and the cradle 200 may adopt configurations which are significantly different from those shown in the accompanying drawings. As an example, the exercise handle 100 may be configured to use only a single grip support strut 118, with the grip 120 being cantelevered over the grip base 102. The grip base upper and lower sections 104 and 106 need not rotate with respect to each other, and can (for example) be integrally formed together to simply define grip base upper and lower surfaces which are joined with respect to each other. The grip base lower section 106 need not have a planar surface for resting against the floor, and may instead bear legs or the like. The cradle 200 might be configured to use any combination of one or more cradle hooks 212, cradle grip supports 214, and grip base pockets 216 for engaging/supporting the exercise handle 100. The reader is referred to the provisional patent application noted at the outset of this document for depictions and discussions of a number of other exemplary variations of the exercise handle 100 and cradle 200 having different configurations.
It should also be understood that various terms referring to orientation and position are used throughout this document—e.g., “upper” (as in “grip base upper section”) and “lower” (as in “grip base lower section”), “top” (as in “cradle base top”) and “bottom” (as in “cradle base bottom”), “right” (as in “right grip base side”) and “left” (as in “left grip base side”), “inner” (as in “inner grip base side”) and “outer” (as in “outer grip base side”)—are relative terms rather than absolute ones. In other words, it should be understood (for example) that the right grip base side 114 referred to above may in fact be located at the left side of the exercise handle 100, or at its top or bottom, depending on the overall orientation of the assembly. Thus, such terms should be regarded as words of convenience, rather than limiting terms.
In summary, the versions of the invention described above are merely exemplary, and the invention is not intended to be limited to these versions. Rather, the scope of rights to the invention is limited only by the claims set out below, and the invention encompasses all different versions that fall literally or equivalently within the scope of these claims.
This application claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/121,305 filed 10 Dec. 2008, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
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